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The managing director of bus operators Trentbarton and Kinchbus, has retired after 24 years with the company and almost half a century in the bus industry.

With impeccable timing, last week Jeff Counsell – who started out in buses as a 15-year-old apprentice – received his bus pass and vowed to use it well.

He said: “I’ll still be riding on the buses, and not just because it has been my job for so long.

“I’m a passionate believer in all public transport.”

Jeff Counsell is retiring as managing director at Trentbarton. Photo: Lionel Heap

“Retirement is a strange feeling but it’s starting to sink in.

“I will miss the people terribly though, I will miss interacting with our people and with our customers.”

Jeff started his career at Lancashire United Transport in the 1970s and joined Trentbarton in 1999 as engineering director.

He progressed to director of service delivery before becoming managing director in 2009.

His role directing both operations and engineering also encompassed the two companies’ relationships with national and local government, an aspect which has been of prime importance during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

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He said: “The last three years have been hard for so many people and for the bus industry.

"Covid and its aftermath kept me very busy but away from the parts of the job I love the most – being out and about with our people at depots, bus stations and on board.

“I have been very privileged to have had my career and the opportunities that came my way.

“It’s a relatively small industry, there are tens of thousands of buses in the UK but everybody knows each other.

“I’m still in contact with people I worked with in the 1970s and those connections run deep across the industry.”

Brian King, chairman of Trentbarton’s parent group Wellglade, said: “Everyone at Trentbarton wishes Jeff a wonderful retirement.

“He leaves with our thanks for his many years of hard work and dedication to the company, its people and our customers.

“Jeff can be very proud of the many awards and accolades won by Trentbarton during his tenure and also by the high esteem he is held in by so many in the UK bus industry.

Mr Counsell: “I’m looking forward to spending more time with my parents, my wife and my daughters and enjoying seeing my grandchildren grow up.”

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